British woman faces jail for sex on Dubai beach

A British businesswoman is facing six years in a foreign jail after she was allegedly caught having drunken sex on a beach in Dubai.

By Laura Clout

8:11AM BST 09 Jul 2008

Michelle Palmer, manager of a publishing firm, was arrested after a police officer reportedly found her and a British holidaymaker in a compromising position on Jumeirah Beach in the Arab state.

The 30-year-old is thought to have been charged with having sex outside marriage - considered an offence in Dubai - as well as indecent behaviour in public, being drunk in public, and assaulting a police officer.

Miss Palmer told the Sun that she fears she will be 'made an example of' under the strict laws of a country where even mild public displays of affection are frowned upon.

She faces and her fellow accused face a sentence of between three months and six years in jail in the state, one of seven that makes up the United Arab Emirates.

She told the newspaper: "Because this is known everywhere they're going to make an example of us and we're going to get a higher sentence.

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"We are in so much trouble and my family and everybody are affected. Until someone is in this situation they could never know what it's like. It's bad - it's so, so bad.

"They are being pushed into a corner to make an example of us. I'm panicking - my mum is on anti-depressants. I can't say anything else. I've got to go."

Miss Palmer, is said to been drinking champagne during a brunch with colleagues last Friday before agreeing to go for a walk on the beach with a friend of a colleague.

When the pair were allegedly found having sex by a policeman, he is said to have let them off with a caution. However, later, after the couple were discovered in the same position, they were arrested, and Miss Palmer is said to have become aggressive.

The exclusive residential area, which boasts a number of luxury hotels, is popular with Western expatriates. Although alcohol is available to non-Muslims in hotel bars, it is an offence to drink or be drunk in public.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Two British nationals were arrested in Dubai. The case is currently under investigation."